Make room for unfocused time.

Once upon a time, I was on a rowing team in high school. My coach told my parents about a pattern he noticed: at times, I rowed completely sloppy, because I would get a bit bored, looking outside the boat to see what was happening on the lake. I would notice the pretty lake house architecture, the kids on the dock, the heron at the shore. 

(Btw, there is a heron in this picture. See if you can find it.)

Then my coach would shout to me, “Shelby, eyes in the boat!” And I would remember to look at the rower ahead of me, and my rowing would improve 1000%. 

This pattern repeated throughout the years, and eventually, he resolved it by giving me more responsibility in the boat: I was either sitting in the front, setting the pace for the other rowers, or sitting in the back, required to turn around periodically to help us navigate and avoid obstacles. He found ways for me to be more interested what was happening in the boat, and with this concentration and discipline, my rowing also improved. 

Now, you may be thinking: Well, you clearly have developed your concentration and discipline. 

I did. That’s part of how I finished my novels. 

I use that same concentration and discipline to write and complete my creations, which is a lot like rowing. You show up every day, and you make the same motions over and over, and you can’t skip any section of the route your boat is taking. During focused working hours, I can’t afford to get distracted by all the shiny new ideas that sit like herons on the shore, because I have to make and refine every single piece of the creation I’m in the process of making.

But for a healthy creative life, you need both patterns present: the discipline of eyes in the boat and the sightseeing curiosity of finding herons on the shore. 

So, that’s what I post here is so often so completely random. 

I have to follow where my interest goes, because my discipline and concentration are needed to finish long projects. 

Find more ways to pursue creative wholeness here.